These 28 Wisconsin Landmarks To Be Renamed To Remove Indigenous Slurs

Milwaukee WI

11 May, 2022

1:50 PM

Description

WISCONSIN — Nearly 30 geographic landmarks in Wisconsin will need to be renamed after the U.S. Secretary of Interior deemed a term used in all names as racist and sexist. The 28 locations are all over Wisconsin, including Marinette, Jackson, Price, Door and Lincoln Counties. Each of the locations bore a name that, in a recent message from Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, was declared derogatory to indigenous women. The word won't be repeated here, but her decision means it can't be used in names for federal lands. Some candidates for new names have already been submitted and offer creative alternatives, like Augustyn Springs and Spirit River Flowage, but the decision isn't final. "Racist terms have no place in our vernacular or on our federal lands. Our nation's lands and waters should be places to celebrate the outdoors and our shared cultural heritage – not to perpetuate the legacies of oppression," Haaland said in a statement. Words have power and influence, especially on the younger generation, Oneida Nation Councilwoman Jennifer Webster told WBAY. "It puts native women in a negative light," she added. More than 600 places across the U.S. have the term in their name, NPR reported. Originally an Algonquin word for "woman," its use in popular culture skewed it into a racist and sexist slur, critics argue. Several states including Maine and Oregon have banned its use completely before Haaland's order. This isn't the first time a Secretary of the Interior has removed derogatory names form American landmarks: In 1974, the Board on Geographic names formally recognized a slur attacking Japanese Americans as derogatory and struck it from federal lands.